Citizens' Watch

Content Tools

In the coming years, consumers will have a new tool for determining the quality of dietary supplements—and it will be right on the label. The National Nutritional Foods Association, an industry trade group, is introducing a new quality assurance program that will guarantee the product was manufactured safely from start to finish.

Good manufacturing practices defined

The National Nutritional Foods Association’s Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Certification Program includes the following criteria.

• The auditors sent to inspect each company will be independent, with no known or potential conflict of interest. Typically, auditors will have a four-year degree in biology, chemistry, or food science; expertise in food or pharmaceutical GMPs; experience in the manufacturing processes for foods or dietary supplements; and successful completion of NNFA training.

• Audits will include all aspects of ­production, including personnel, plant and grounds, sanitation, equipment, quality operations, production and process controls, and warehouse, distribution, and post-distribution practices.

• An NNFA advisory board will periodically review and suggest revisions to the process.

• Companies can use the NNFA GMP Certification Seal only after fulfilling every requirement of the GMP certification process. Manufacturers will have an opportunity to take ­corrective action or appeal sub-­standard ratings.

The National Nutritional Foods As­sociation (NNFA) developed the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Cert­ification Program based on dialogs with ­natural ­products manufacturers, suppliers, trade ­associations, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Launched in July of this year to be fully implemented in three years, the program provides independent, third-party verification that supplement manufacturers maintain safety and quality standards. After meeting the program’s ­criteria, a company acquires the right to use the NNFA GMP Certification Seal on its products.

“The NNFA GMP Certification Program is one of the most important initiatives in the dietary supplement field today,” says Logan Chamberlain, Ph.D., publisher of Herbs for Health and a member of NNFA’s education committee. “The public must have a simple and sure way to identify products that have been manufactured to specified quality standards.”

Citizens For Health, a consumer advocacy organization for natural health issues, also supports the program.

“NNFA’s GMP Certification Program is an important step toward increasing the public’s confidence,” says Susan Haeger, Citizens For Health president. “The general public places a lot of trust in the quality and safety of the natural products they purchase every day. It’s essential to ensure that their trust is not misplaced.”

In 1994, Citizens For Health was instrumental in the natural health community’s fight to secure the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, legislation that granted the industry the right to include health-relevant information on product labels. The congressional ruling also required the publication of good manufacturing practices specific to dietary supplements, but the FDA has not yet published these standards.

“[In 1995,] the members decided that GMPs were necessary since the FDA was not aggressively pursuing them,” says Jill Ellis, Ph.D, director of science and quality assurance at NNFA, which represents about 3,000 retailers and 1,000 manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors of health foods and natural products.

To accommodate the widely varying processes in the natural products industry, companies are given the flexibility to meet the performance standards in a number of ways, Ellis says. All NNFA members will have to comply to retain their membership. However, outside of helping train the independent inspectors, most of whom are retired from the FDA, NNFA has no say in whether a company complies, Ellis says.

“Citizens’ watch” is an educational supplement written and compiled by Citizens For Health and the Herbs for Health staff.

Partners for quality

Herbs for Health magazine and Citizens For Health have joined forces to increase public awareness of ad­vances in dietary supplements quality.

For more on the NNFA GMP program, visit the Herbs for Health website at www.discoverherbs.com.

For more on consumer access to information about natural health therapies, contact Citizens For Health at (800) 357-2211; website www.citizens. org.

Related Content

Share your thoughts.

Subscribe today and save 58%

Subscribe to Mother Earth Living!

Welcome to Mother Earth Living, the authority on green lifestyle and design. Each issue of Mother Earth Living features advice to create naturally healthy and nontoxic homes for yourself and your loved ones. With Mother Earth Living by your side, you’ll discover all the best and latest information you want on choosing natural remedies and practicing preventive medicine; cooking with a nutritious and whole-food focus; creating a nontoxic home; and gardening for food, wellness and enjoyment. Subscribe to Mother Earth Living today to get inspired on the art of living wisely and living well.

Save Money & a Few Trees!

Pay now with a credit card and take advantage of our earth-friendly automatic renewal savings plan. You’ll save an additional $5 and get six issues of Mother Earth Living for just $14.95! (Offer valid only in the U.S.)